Mérida, Yucatán — The state government is violating Uber drivers’ right to work, charges Silvia América López Escoffié of the Citizens’ Movement in Yucatán.
It is wrong to tow away Uber cars as long as Mexico’s supreme court has yet to address the conflict between the high-tech company and transportation officials, the political activist said in a statement issued today.
For many drivers, Uber provides the sole income for their families, she added.
Uber has completed a full year of operating in Mérida, but the governor has cast the ride-sharing firm as a pirate taxi company, not conforming to regulations set last June.
López Escoffié expressed regret that Gov. Rolando Zapata Bello maintains privileges for the Frente Único de Trabajadores del Volante (FUTV), an organization that she says has historically been allied with the Zapata Bello’s party, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI), during the electoral process.
The regulations should be tabled, she asserts, because eight deputies filed an Unconstitutionality Action before the supreme court against the aforementioned law. The deputies said the law protects an FUTV monopoly and contravenes constitutional principles such as free transit and free association.
The court is expected to hand down a decision on the case sometime in May.
